Originally Posted by
mgcsinc
What disturbs me more than anything about this story and others like it is how little some agents seem to think through the fact that they're making a decision that will completely ruin someone's week. Top read these accounts, it's sometimes as if the agent thinks they're making some minor decision, like declining to give someone a free E+ seat. "Sorry sir, you can't go on your long, well-planned overseas vacation, please step aside and go home. Whomp whomp." If you're gonna do that to someone, you better be really, really, really sure that you're right.
To some extent, we probably all get desensitized in our jobs. That doesn't make it right.
I agree with you completely, and would add that for every one of these we read, there are probably 10 more cases we never hear about. I can just imagine my mother in this situation, who is not assertive and has a generational respect for anyone that seems to be an authority, and who would never ever read or post on an internet forum. Or my Dad who is a million miler on DL and would fight until he got an acceptable solution, but would never ever post on an Internet forum.
And all the focus here on what the OP could have done better is ridiculous. This was not a run of the mill business trip like many of us do without thinking. This was likely a once in a lifetime trip that was ruined. Everyone needs to put themselves in that situation, knowing they were adequately prepared, and then re-write their posts.